In my previous review submitted on September 10, 2002 I said that this zoom was a good lens but with some problems in the 130-200 mm range, due perhaps to my defective sample. I was right. I have recently bought the last model XR DI, which share the same optical design with previous 28-200 XR and I cannot see the problems at the end of the range of XR only version.
Tamron in the new XR Di brochure, states that has been improved quality control and I can say that this zoom is now a very good lens, which I rate 4 stars.
I got mine for 85$ as new, for use with my Sony A100 Alpha, therefore, i can only speak out how this Tamron performs on my A100 only, 1st it very light, small, well build, got internal focus, comes with petal hood. Well! you all know that Sony A100 has build in image stabilization in body, so all lenses will be stabilized with what so call Super steady shot from Sony. For that reason this Tamron lens works well with A100, it gives me nice colors, neutral, contrast, and sharp at all ranges. But the sharpest i found is between the 50-150mm step down to f8-11. at 200mm i found a light purple fringes.Its small and compact fits well with my Sony body too.Filter size is 62mm. It has zoom lock so you can lock your zoom when shooting downward or upward. Metal mount made in Japan. It is a real bargain for those who wants good images without sacrified your wallet. Not all Tamron lenses are great, but so is the other brands!. I personally got many, many soft lenses from Canon and Nikon in my life. For that reason i switched to Sony.
In all, im very happy with mine, for the price i wont complain at all, its an everyday lens..i also got a Sony R1 which has a zeiss lens with real 24-120mm at f2.8.Both together i got myself a great combo for all shooting.
IF you found this lens dont work for other camera bodies, its not my fault.You should buy Sony A100.
I think I got hacked for this lens for the price I paid. Nonetheless its a great lens to have. I have two lens one being a Canon USM 28mm-80mm and the other being the Tamron. The Tamron 28 - 200 wins hands down. Same size longer ranges and greater picture. Great price for a lens with this capability and according to Tamron's website, this is one of its best consumer lenses. I won't argue with that.
However you get what you pay for. Using the lens recently for night shots left me handicapped being that f4.0 is the largest I have when I match my Canon EOS-33 to it. f4.0 isn't good enough for night shots, not large enough for enough light to enter during high speed shots. I'd settle for a f2.8 or bigger but the Tamron Super has only f4.0 biggest on the Canon EOS-33.
Other than the small apature size due the fact that it is a zoom lens, I encounter little else in the way of problems. A terrific lens to have even when I'm doing potraits with Fuji 160 NPS. Had close results compared to an L lens using the same film though I had to have a longer exposure compared with the flourite lens of Canon's L series.
Strengths:
Value for money if I hadn't been hacked for such high price.
Weaknesses:
-Too many elements in the lens makes it recieve slightly lesser light. Common with zoom lenses.
-Slow focusing. Esp when light is low.
-Motor is noisy. Nocturnal animals pay attention to that noise.
Similar Products Used:
Canon 28 - 200 USM @ 72dia, price is too high for similar results with the exception of faster focusing. Better light recieving due to larger lenses.
Customer Service:
Good enough that I won't require customer service.
I purchased this lens mainly because of it's versitility, compact design and price. As there was a special going... I also got it for a bargin price.
I use a 300D, and this coupled with the tamron lens is a great combination. The 1.6 crop factor transforms the lens into a 44 - 320 field of view lens... so you tend to loose a bit on the short end.
One other point to note, if you own a 300D like I do, you won't be able to get an fstop of 3.8. The camera body doesn't support that fstop hence the maximum fstop is 4 (ie. this is not a defect).
The lens produces crisp images at all focal lengths. Because of it's zoom range, it'll probably be one of your main lenses... handy for the "group" shot, and great for picking out objects in a crowd or some distance away.
What's more, it's fairly compact and the weight balances well on the 300D body. You won't feel it to be too much of a burden. So it's great for travelling and feels convenient enough to be the only lens you might take on a trip.
Lastly, it has a 50cm minimum working distance allowing for macro shots at 1:4. This isn't too bad, and I've used it to take various smaller items to great effect. It does render quite a lot of detail although because of the aperture, isn't as wide open to get enough depth of field happening in a macro shot. Bear in mind you will probably need a good tripod to take macro shots as the lens is fairly heavy, and the aperture isn't that fast.
I'd recommend it to anybody who just wants a decent zoom, that's compact, convenient and versitile. By itself, it's probably well suited to outdoor photography. For indoor photography, you will probably need a studio setup or a decent flash. Note that you might experience shadows being cast from the lens if you use the default flash on the 300D and zoomed in at 200mm (depending on how far away your subject is). Overall, a great performer and great value for money.
Strengths:
Compact Design
Zoom Range
Macro
Weaknesses:
Average Aperture
Reasonable Focusing Speed
Similar Products Used:
Canon 18-55 EFS (very average lens)
Canon 50 II 1.8
Well, what can I say, take this lens, put it on your digital camera, and you get something that's better than any other point&shoot digital camera out there. I look at this lens as a budget do-it-all lens, something that can replace a $100.00 28-75mm and a $100.00 75-200mm. All in one complete package that's lighter than both. No you won't get pictures compared to a high end 28-75mm (Like an L series, or even Tamron's 28-75 Xr Di LD) but should you be comparing these lenses together in the same bucket? No. You get what you pay for, and for the price you pay for this lens, you get exactly that. Decent, not astounding pictures and a lot of flexibility in one package.
Strengths:
Lightweight
Small size portability
28-200mm great zoom range
Sample Images
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